Toothbrush holder for children



Jan., 23, H951 D. scANLON ET Al. 2,539,035

TOOTHBRUSH HOLDER FOR CHILDREN Filed Aug. 8, 1947 /y INVENTOR. .aZfowScan Zon Wz'Zz's G. Hacke' ATTDRNEYS Patented Jan. 23, 1951 OFFICETOOTHBRUSH HOLDER FOR CHILDREN Dalton Scanlon and Willis G. Hackett,Fulton City, N. Y.

Application August 8, 1947, Serial No. 767,500

2 Claims.

This invention relates to a toothbrush holder for children.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a toothbrush holderwhich will retain the toothbrush until a penny or the like coin isinserted and a lever pulled in order to release the toothbrush andwherein the coin will be collected within a bank-like retainer for thetoothbrush whereby the child will be rewarded for having removed thetoothbrush and used the same.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a combinedpenny bank and toothbrush holder which will be of interest to children.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a combinedtoothbrush holder and bank which is of simple construction, inexpensiveto manufacture and efficient in operation.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to thefollowing detailed description taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of my combined bankand toothbrush holder.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view, in elevation, of my combined bank andtoothbrush holder.

Fig. 3 is a side elevational View of the toothbrush holder portionremoved from the bank.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view of the toothbrush holder by itself.

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view in elevation, of the toothbrush holder.

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of the toothbrush holder taken from theopposite side than from which the view in Fig. 3 is taken and withoutthe coin being disposed therein.

Fig. '7 is a top plan view of the toothbrush holder.

Referring now to the figures, I represents a bank body representative ofsome animal or the like shape which will attract the attention of thechild and in which my toothbrush holder II is inserted to permit thetoothbrush, as indicated at I2, to be extended into the front of thebank.

The toothbrush retaining device includes a tube I3 having its bottomclosed as at lll. A coil spring I is disposed in the bottom of the tubeI3 and will react against the end of the toothbrush I2 as it is insertedtherein to eject the toothbrush from the tube I3 when a projection I5 ona leaf spring I'l secured at I8 to the outside of the tube I3, iswithdrawn from a hole I9 in the lower end of the toothbrush. Normallythe projection I6 will hold the toothbrush in the tube I3 against theaction of the spring I5.

The toothbrush holder further includes a chute 2I having an entranceopening 22 into which a penny or other coin is inserted at the time thechild desires to use the toothbrush. The coin will move downwardly untilit engages a stop 23 on the lower end of spring I1.

On the spring Il is a bearing portion 25 through which extends a shaft26 having an arm 2'I adapted to engage the coin to depress the same pastthe projection 23 to cause spring I1 to be moved outwardly and theprojection I6 withdrawn from the hole I9 of the toothbrush I2. A handle28 extends from the opposite end of the shaft 26 which is pulled by thechild when the child desires the toothbrush. A spring 29 is disposed onthe shaft 2B to normally maintain the handle 28 in the raised positionas shown in Fig. 6. The tube I3 has a hole 3l through which theprojection I6 is projected. The spring 29 will return the handle 28 tothe raised position when it is released. The coin is indicated at 32.The coin chute 2I is welded to the side of the tube I3 as indicated at34 in Fig. '7.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shallbe understood that such changes shall be Within the spirit and scope ofthe present invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A combined bank and toothbrush holder for children comprising a bankvessel. and a coin operated and release toothbrush holder mounted in thebank vessel and having a lever extending from the same and to theexterior of the bank vessel to operate the device upon the insertion ofa coin therewithn, said toothbrush holder device including a chute forreceiving and directing the coin to the bank vessel, a tube into whichthe toothbrush is extended, a leaf spring fixed to the side of the tubeand having a projection adapted to extend through the tube and intoengagement with the toothbrush therewithin, a shaft journalled on theleaf spring and having an arm adapted to engage with the coin and asecond arm being an extension of the lever which extends from the bankvessel, and a stop on the leaf spring adapted to receive the coinwhereby as the coin is depressed the leaf spring Will be moved outwardlyby the downward pressure of said coin on said stop so that itsprojection is free of the toothbrush handle.

2. A combined bank and toothbrush holder as defined in claim 1, and aspring within the lower end of the tube reacting against the toothbrushto eject the same upon being released by the projection of the leafspring.

DALTON SCANLON. WILLIS G. HACKETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 727,893 Buck et al May 12, 1903'762,602 Sullivan June 14, 1904 2,172,432 Brodsky Sept. 12, 1939

